Angel Born In Hell
by Desdemona Kakalose
Summary: A new Wu is revealed, and it puts Kimiko in an unexpected position. Not like she cared or anything, but who is jack, really? How did he become who he is? jackxkimiko, flashback centric, some pretty dark areas... OLD
1. simply stated words

What started as simple curiosity became her world. Kimiko found a secret when she looked deep enough- every demon has an angel buried somewhere inside. Love is never expected but it lives in every heart, even in evil.

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I've heard it said

No angel born in hell

Can relieve a Satan spell

But you could be the exeption,

And by now I know what's true.

Tell me: when the world turned its back

What was left for you?

You've seen the world the way it is,

The lies, the flaws, the cowardice.

You hid behind a broken mask.

Betrayal is your friend

Because you assume you're doomed to fail

At the bitter end.

What you want to be,

you don't even know

what you are is fraud

Though you play a clever show

Your shield is your jail

"If I don't try, I'll never fail"

Nothing went right cause you did it all their way

This isn't what you want-no matter _what _you say

Soul of an angel

In a child of hell

I've never been like you

But some things I can just tell

All alone- never loved

From place to place you're shoved

Maybe not evil

Maybe just lost

Your _own_ soul became a nothing cost

I didn't look twice

so it took a while to see

There's goodness deep inside you

Struggling to be free

Desperate for power

"Hate me, love me, please just look my way!"

When I finally saw it

It tore my heart away.

Hells angel, I do love you.

Simple words it seems

But hungry for _some_ company

It enters all your dreams

Sleep well my love

Though Lonely gives no warning

Nightmares will not find you

I'll be here come the morning

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**Its my first but I was inspired! Blame the coco**


	2. a prolouge for those with no memorys

**You want a story? Here's my best effort. now its just info for peeps who haven't watched in a while. Kimiko will narrate for you.**

**Only she and jack truly know what happened.**

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Have you ever had one of those days? Those days that make you want to laugh, cry, scream, and throw your favorite pillow out the window and burn it because things have gotten so confusing, and you s_till_ don't know what he's thinking? Yes one of those days. But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself…you should know who I am at least. 

I am Kimiko Tohomico, daughter of an eccentric billionaire and queen of the cyber world. If its got a hard drive, I can hack it. So what does she do with her time, you ask? She saves the world from "one thousand years of darkness" with suspicious regularity.

I and my fellow monks (yes, apparently in china girls_ can _be monks) live in the xiaolin temple, full of oddly named magical objects, and fight more than weekly over who will posses the newest addition. Crazy eh? We battle the darkest evil and use the brightest of powers, and yet…

We never seem to get anywhere. The sluttish heylin witch Wuya, the horrible shape shifter Chase, the miniature daemon Hannibal, and an assortment of other freaks, losers and terrors cross our paths with worrying regularity.

The thing about evil is this: even if they fail, they keep coming back. Even if we vanquish them in full xiaolin glory, they return at the next battle, whereas if we lose, the world is plunged into turmoil and chaos. Totally sucks.

Our archenemy is a techno genius with a simpering disposition and creepy eyeliner, the one and only (thank god) Jack Spicer. We contend with him on a weekly basis, taunting and insulting him. Its not a good thing but I enjoy it. Seeing him squirm is like watching your sister's diary burn to cinders. Its pleasant, because you see him as a pathetic loser, useless and deserving of whatever you hit him with. It may not be a nice truth but it's the truth, and I don't like to lie.

This particular story, I later found out, truly starts with him, in his "lair". I'll show you what I was shown, the way I was shown it. But be warned: you know more than I did at the time…

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**throw me a bone, I need reviews. If you wanna flame me, be my guest-it _is _a kimiko story. suggestions always appreciated :)**

**why do i have that Blue October song stuck in my head? you know the wierd one about water... Kuso!**


	3. a Wu and a loser

So, here is what happened to Jack, an intro and explanation (if you look at it the right way

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"Its really quiet in here…"

Somewhere in the suburbs of china a 14-year-old Goth boy looked up from his _latest project_. A master of robotics, semi-genius, and self proclaimed Evil Emperor of Darkness, he wanted for nothing. Most of the time. Or so he told himself.

"I think we need some music…Jackbots!" The technologic marvels zoomed over to await further command. "I'd like you to turn on the radio, maybe some rock-No! Scratch that, play my theme music!" as the 'menacing' tune (now in techno remix) played over the speakers the boy sat back and reached for his soda. After taking a sip, he returned to the table covered in gizmos, tools and a hundred other things only he could name.

'Jack you have truly out done yourself! We'll see who's the mama's boy _now_ " finally satisfied with his work, jack headed upstairs for his bedroom where he could sleep in a real bed for the first time in days. He passed through the hallways covered in Japanese swords and ornate Chinese vases, and up the stairwell decorated in oddly shaped and intricately carved mirrors. The teen rolled his eyes at the exhibition, not bothering to hide his disgust at the obvious display of wealth. Why hide it? His mom wasn't here to notice and lecture him about "looking the part".

Struck by impulse he stopped in front of one of the larger mirrors. An abnormally pale boy with startlingly red hair stared back. A normal person, after being assaulted by these apparent facts, would notice his unnerving crimson eyes, framed with black eyeliner. The goggles that often covered his eyes were at the moment mounted on his forehead. The Evil boy genius frowned at his reflection and went on to his room.

Sometimes he hated how he looked, and sometimes it gave him an odd sense of pride. At the moment he was just too tired to care, it being after midnight.

Jack forced himself through the evening rituals, but halfway through removing his signature black trench coat, his detector watch want off. He groaned and replaced his helibot.

"that's one more sleepless night… I wonder how many more I can take before I'm fried chicken?" We'll just have to see, he thought.

Summoning his robotic minions, Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, flew off in search of newly activated Shen gong Wu.


	4. Enter The Caves of Exedon

**soooo, I'm away at my dads house mondays/thursedays and next weekend. so you'll probly get one more chapter this week, maybe two.**

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"So, Dojo, tell me again why we're up before the friking crack of dawn? And it better be a good reason too."

"Hey! I get no respect… we are up before the 'friking crack of dawn', as you so quaintly put it, because the newest Shen Gong Wu has revealed its self! The Book of Exedon, to be exact."

Me, Rae, Clay and Omi were once again on Dojo's back and trailing the newest Wu. And Rae wasn't the only one mad about waking up so early.

"Honestly, Dojo, why did we have to go so early? Jack's such a lazy whiner he'll probably sleep right through that stupid alarm of his." I said. Actually, that was one of the reasons I didn't want to go. If jack weren't going to show up _then_ who would I kick around? Maybe Rae would say something stupid so I could take it out on him…

"I'm on the lady's side with this one, Dojo. Couldn't we have waited another hour?" Clay yawned, jerking me out of my sulk. Dojo mumbled something about 'talking a lot for someone so tired'.

"So what does this Wu do? Gotta be better than Ants in the pants…" noted Rae. Omi, who was listening to my ipod, looked up and began his lecture.

"my friend, if you had paid attention, you would know that this most important of Shen Gong Wu is used to find the weakness of an enemy. Once held, its owner need only write another's name into the book in order to learn their deepest and darkest secrets. In fact-"

"Omi! Would you let it drop?" I was getting nervous, who wouldn't when they lived in a temple full of boys armed with a secret detector? They wouldn't even need to find my diary (which I hid after the last incident) to know exactly how to embarrass me… pulling out of my worries I noticed we were somewhere in Romania.

The Wu was once again in a mountain; apparently Grand master Dashi had a thing for the Carpathians. We soared over the mountains to the left and headed for an oddly shaped cluster. As Dojo touched ground, we disembarked and looked around. We were standing on a wide ledge over the steep valley below. It really was beautiful, the dark blue sky splattered with tiny silver dots, like a picture painted on satin. The moon was setting over the mountain edge as Dojo gave us the run down.

"Lady and gentleman, here there are two cave entrances. Since this headache is messing with my Wu detector, Omi and Clay will go left while Kimiko and Raimundo go right. The book is black so it may blend in with the shadows… so keep your flashlights out."

"Okay, we will just be- hey! Why are you not coming in?" challenged Omi.

"Well… these mountains have been known to cave in, I mean they're 15,00 years old for crying out loud! So I'll be out here to, uh, protect you if anything goes wrong". Dojo looked shifty, and all of us wondered if he was just afraid of being caved in too.

Rolling our eyes, we split up into our small groups, none of us seeing the shadow of a certain boy genius fly in behind.

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**RandR. trying to finnish this story quickly so I can get to Mona... you'll see maniacle laughter**


	5. God, I'm sick of tunnles

**SO RECAP: Kimi's in a cave searching for the Book of Exedon (idea of Shivas Avatar, thanks) followed soon after by my lurve Jack spicer. gives the user all your inner secrets. and some random facts.**

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"Raimundo! We're lost, admit it." And we were. In fact, at this point we wouldn't know our Shen Gong Wu if it bit us on the- never mined. 

"Relax Kimiko, i have mad tracking skillz! we'll find this Wu before you can say 'Rio de Janeiro'" he said.

"Rio de Janeiro" I muttered. This was getting annoying now. I rolled my eyes, and stopped with the light down. All we had were our flashlights, which while bight only go in strait lines, and it became very dark.

"Seriously Rai, if we don't bag this soon Jack will show up. Then we'll have to fight him in a _cave_ of all places" I was more than a little edgy. Not only did I have to worry about my own teammates but also about my archenemy finding out my deepest darkest secrets.

Then again… if Jack did show up then I could have the pleasure of beating him within an inch of his worthless life. That could be fun. But I was still worried.

Ten minutes later we were still backtracking some 20ft into each entrance. we were going farther and farther in and getting only more confused. This mountain was amazingly riddled with holes. It made me wonder what was going on here 15,000 years ago.

"Ugh! Jack'll be here any second! Find it now before he shows up!" I was shaking Raimundo when I heard the trademark chopping sound of Jacks helibot behind us.

There were a few moments in our history of xiaolin-ing when Jack managed to look cool. This was one of them. He was hovering a foot or two above the ground, arms crossed and a sneer across his face. As we turned to face him, I was caught in that moment. He's really not bad looking if you get past the whine. I've noticed it before, like back when he let us use his time machine…but I try not to focus on it. Its bad for form to tolerate your enemy, just look at what happened to Omi!

Jack pointed his finger at us uttering his signature cry "Jackbots; Attack!" and the moment was broken.

"Wudi mars; Fire!" SMASH!

"Wudi star; Air!" BANG!

The sound of boots on metal and shorting curcuits filled the air and rang throughout the cave.

One particularly adept Jackbot whooshed away from Raimundo's target spot, and Rai went flying through one of the turnoff entrances. He hit mid-wall and slid down landing in a pile of rubble. Shoving the rocks away, his hand brushed across something foreign. The black Book of Exedon!

"Kimi! I found it, I found it!" he shouted as he waved the book. I cheered while smashing the last Jackbot.

"So, Jack looks like your all washed up, _again._" A little disappointed that there hadn't even been a showdown, but still glad to win.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Washed up am I? Well say hello to my **bigbot!**"

I scoffed. "What kind of a name is that? And I thought the others were lame!"

The Goth boy looked hurt. "Lets just see what you think once you know what it can do. _Plus, I was really tired when I named it"_ he added in a small voice.

Suddenly, the scant amount of light filtering in from the far away entrance was blocked completely, and I was just a touch worried. Slowly, Raimundo raised his flashlight to eyelevel and pointed it at the shape. It was so huge it barely even fit in this, the main tunnel, and seemed to be made entirely of black metal and copper.

"Like it?" Jack asked. "It's really a work of true genius only I, the mighty Jack Spicer, could create" he was really getting into it now." Ever seen The Iron Giant? No? Well, like the one featured in that movie, this beauty reassembles itself on its own. Which means I don't even have to fix it, it fixes itself, furthermore, it has A.I. so orders aren't necessary and its completely obedient to ME!"

"I hear your bark Spicer, now where's your bite?" But despite his words, I could tell Raimundo was worried. It seemed Jack had _finally_ managed to make something useful.

"My bark is Right. Here. Anialate them!"

The fist of the giant 'bot crash down inches from where I was only seconds before. Again and again it came at us, and only by sheer luck and size-based agility did we manage to stay in the game. But luck can only last so long, and Raimundo especially was getting tired.

The…thing…went in for the kill (figuratively of course, Jack maybe an evil jerk, but he wouldn't murder us on purpose). The giant android crashed forward, sending me flying. It slammed full speed into the cave wall, its impact echoed by a deep rumbling. As I sat up slowly, the ceiling began to drop rubble on our heads. my leg was twisted into a horrible position.

"What have you done Spicer?!" Raimundo screamed, charging the Goth boy. He flailed, slipped on the ever-tumbling silt and knocked Jack back towards me. While Rai struggled to right himself, we heard the voice of Omi.

"My friends! We must leave here at once! The cave is no longer safe and must surely collapse soon." Clay and Omi both rushed forward and dragged the struggling boy forward.

"No! Clay, listen man, where is Kimi? I don't see her!"

"There's no time partner. I'm sure she ran ahead. She can take care of herself. Now lets _go._"

And I was left behind, my leg bent under me, as the walls collapsed in all around. And I remember thinking before the shock and exhaustion overcame me: who has the book?

Who has the………

…Book?

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not r**eally a bad cliffie. gotta finnish soon cause my turns up. note that i used someone elses Wu idea because i have a subcontius believe that _most_ tv shows tap into alternate universes. you don't write the, they write you. nothing came to me so i decided to use a precognitized idea that proably tapped into that world too. i think mine is right on the mark :) so far**


	6. aftershocking

**Sorry its so short, I'm in a hurry!!!!!!

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**

Total darkness, so complete and consuming that all it touches withers, plants die and the mind is lost in a haze of terror and pain. That is true darkness.

Jack sat in the midst of it, brooding on these dark observances and trying to keep a single nagging thought at bay. Instead, he focused on the insanity of the last ten or so minutes.

A normal fight (now that he thought about it, it was strange to consider a fight normal) turned into something earth shattering. He _really_ didn't want to think about it but…he could die in here. No one cared about him particularly, his dad wouldn't care and his mom would get over it quickly, assume he moved out or went to stay with his "friends".

But people would care what happened to Kimiko. Maybe they'd get to her in time and he'd be saved too. So maybe that was why he did what he did…

As the collapsing cave drew closer and closer, jack had realized that he needed to move, and soon too. As the Goth boy struggled to get felling back into his legs, the crumbling ceiling encroached in on him.

Soon his nerves were working enough to crawl away. But as he turned to escape, the Japanese girl lying on the floor let out a whimper as a singularly large chunk of wall crashed down not inches from her unconscious body.

His first impulse was to get out of there immediately and devil take the hindmost, but somehow he couldn't. Maybe it was that crush he had almost two years ago, or the spark of decency he had tried so hard to bury. But whatever it was, it hit him so hard he couldn't even fight back.

Quickly, before he could regain his senses, he grabbed her limp body by the shirt and dragged it away to the sturdiest wall. The rumble slowly quieted and he was left in the dark as her flashlight faded completely.

And now he sat there, trying to drown out the action that scraped at his subconscious like nails on a chalkboard. It threatened to undermine the very foundation on which his mind was built.

For as long as he could remember he'd been jack, the selfish mastermind. Jack, the conniving genius. He didn't care what happened to other people, and they knew it.

So if that was the case…

Why did he save his enemy's life?

Blocking out all his thoughts, the confused boy genius forced himself to sleep.

* * *

Where…where am I?

I looked around, or at least I thought I did but I saw nothing. And then it came flooding back, the Wu, the fight, and the cave in, all of it.

"Kuso!" I shouted, reverting to Japanese. This was not supposed to happen! It was too much. I was drowning in darkness.

"…So you're up? 'bout time too, I can't see worth a crap" Jack's voice, he must have gotten stuck in here to. That's _exactly_ what I need right now. Not.

"And just what am I supposed to do about that?" what an irritating whiner.

"You're the dragon of fire, duh. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out, even though I am. Have you forgotten that there was light before Edison?"

"Shut up Spicer! I just got knocked unconscious! Give me a break." The truth was, I had forgotten. I already told you that I'm the best hacker there is, and sometimes you forget about the world that doesn't affect you.

Regardless, I lit up a fire. Setting out my palm, I called up the essential flame that plays my soul. The ancient Greeks used to believe that a candle burned eternally inside of every person. Sometimes I think they weren't far off.

"So what do we do now?" jack asked the air. I doubt he even remembered I was there; he was lost in thought, drawing into himself.

"Not that it matters" he continued, " I guess we'll suffocate pretty soon… or someone will come and get us."

"US?" I was not in a good mood, and I was venting. Considering ones imminent demise was not a happy-making experience. "No one is coming to get _us_ they're coming to get _me_!"

"You think I don't know that?" he stood up "Of course no ones coming for me, you xiaolin losers are the only people who even know I exist! Who else is gunna get me? My parents?" he spat 'parents' like a curse word "fat chance! Can you blame me for not wanting to think about that?"

I was shocked. This was for sure the most I had ever learned about his life, to be honest it was also the first time I cared.

"Wouldn't your parents…notice? After a while?" it was a hard concept to wrap my mind around, my dad wouldn't notice for a week or so, but then I didn't see him except in my web mails.

"You don't know anything about me do you? How could you? I'm just that fool who calls himself a genius, embarrassment to the heylin side and pain in the butt to the xiaoliners. I'm not stupid, if that's what you thought. I have ADHD, like the other .2 billion American born smog suckers. Not that you care…" the bitterness was tangible.

"Maybe I don't, but we don't have much more to do. And anyway, if we're going to die, you probably shouldn't go out angry… it might hurt your karma" the truth was: I was curious. No one really knew anything about Spicer; maybe we could use it as a weapon. If I got out alive, that is.

Well… the first thing you should know is where I was born…

* * *

"Guys… Kimi's not out here. Oh god, what if she got stuck in the collapse?" Raimundo was frantic. The Brazilian paced back and forth wringing his hands (a nervous habit of his).

"I mean, what are we gong ta do? Dojo flew back to that village to get the other Wu and I don't think we're getting into that cave without them. So if she's not out here then how do we find her?"

"Come to think of it, I don' think that varmin' Spicer is out here neither."

Omi turned from his meditating position and faced the older boys. "Well that would most certainly be the icing on the gravy. I do not think we would be wise to trust our friend with such a…twisted… character as Jack Spicer."

Raimundo spun around "what do we know about this jerk anyway? I'll tell you: nothing! He could be gay, or a sadist or, or, who knows what!"

"Ah, Raimundo? I recon I gotta way to find out" clay pulled from under his hat…

"The Book of Exedon!"

and if I remember correctly, all we got ta do is write Spicer's name in it. Lets start the lesson shall we?" Raimundo suggested with a malicious grin.

Let the fun begin, its payback time.

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**so as you can see: raimundo is very protective of kimi, kimi is alittle selfish... but who isn't, and Jack becomes very calm in the face of _certain _doom. not violence mind you but doom...death if you will**


	7. flashbacks

**i'll be gone for an entire week to the capitole of the USA!!! hurrah. but i can't write (boo) so don't disembowl me for not updating. if you feel out of it, its because i fixed the last chapter.**

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"Anyone_ g_ot a pen?" asked Raimundo. The other boys shook their heads, no. clay handed him a piece of chalk rock, the kind children use to write on their playground equipment. 

Under the scribbled name appeared line after line of print

_Name-Jack Lilith Spicer_

_i.q.- untested ( it is believed that he cheated on the test to look average) generalized to be between 120 and 170_

_Place of birth-_ San Francisco, California

_Mother-Lillian Castavi (House wife, subject to minor psychiatric ills, passive aggressive partier-)_

_Father- Adam Spicer (Former drug lord, stock market tycoon, currently worth 8.2 billion. At the moment in Northern Africa_

_Ambition- world conquest. (Formerly to win the Nobel Prize in engineering)_

_Favorite food- pudding cups_

_Weakness- mother, pain, and spiders_

_love intrest- none currently (fomerly miss Kimiko Tohomiko)_

But when the flipped the page, one animated scene after another played out before their eyes.

* * *

"I was born in San Francisco to a man named Adam Spicer. His wife, Lillian, was born in a small north Florida city called Monticello. His wedding gift to her was the promise that their child would be perfect, impeccable in every way.

When she first learned of her pregnancy, she asked my father how he intended to keep his promise. He didn't tell her at that time, but one of his business ventures was in the field of genetic engineering before the media or even the government knew it. Dad was a man of his word, so he pulled his top scientists and began analyzing his unborn sons genes. They worked out a formula that would bring he recessive genes out of hiding.

But something went wrong with the formula, crude as it was. A gene you see every day that we fight, a gene you mock and scorn, though you may not have known it, made itself known."

Jack pointed to his skin, red tinted in my firelight.

"This gene that caused me so much pain, albinism. My father horrified, fired his scientist and sold the research rights to the government.

FLASHBACK-

"My child… my darling child…" Lillian whispered, and then slumped. A man stood at the edge of the room with an angry look on his face and an old-fashioned cell phone at his ear.

"no excuses! You've turned my son, _my heir_, into a freak of nature! No, not even nature makes things this strange, he's a freak of technology!"

-END FLASHBACK

Before my second birthday, father who was once a middleclass business owner became intolerably rich, using underhanded and questionable methods. The richer he got, the more he distanced himself from mother and myself.

Lillian c. Spicer was not one to be ignored, and sought refuge in her wealth and status, also leaving her son, me, to the care of underpaid nannies."

FLASHBACK-

A little boy with startling red hair and eyes looks up at a woman who can only be his mother. She's putting on lipstick in a compact mirror and heading for the door.

"Why do you have to go now? You could stay with me and play party games… please?"

The lady takes her coat off the rack and puts it on. Not even looking down she says that she's needed at her friends and they're counting on her.

"But it's my birthday and I don't wanna be alone."

"Don't be silly, your nannies will stay with you. And you can play games with daddy when he comes home."

The door slams behind her and the little boy tries not to cry, because he know something his mother seems to have forgotten: his father won't be home for another week at least.

He turns to his servant "will you play with me?" she only roles her eyes and goes back to watching television. Sadly he slinks into the kitchen and sings himself the 'happy birthday' song over a piece of ten-dollar cake.

"Some birthday…"

-END FLASHBACK

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**if you feel out of it, its because i fixed the last chapter. see pre-AN (up)**

**so yea... those flashbacks? thats what the boys are seeing. woohooooo! they know the truth now :) if you don't reveiw i swear i'll- (savannah) "you'll do what?" (dmona) "i'll...EAT THEM! yeah, i'll eat their innards! (savannah) "... you need to cut out the invader zim." (dmona) "hey! what do you know?" (svannah) "exactly as much as you; i AM you (dumb $#)**


	8. the shadow of fear thing

**wow, its been forever! i felt so bad about not updaiting... but then again i really don't know if many people even read this... i'm gonna go sulk.**

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Jack looked up from his memories. He looked so sad, so serious, so…un-Jackish. I was taken aback by his change in demeanor.

"If the servants didn't like me much, then they hated my mother. She was snippy with them, looking for reasons to dock their pay. It seemed as if she loved only three things in the world: me, her parties, and her husband, and then only sometimes. In fact it often seemed like any moment she wasn't at a party she was either angry with him or completely devoted. Anyways, where was I?"

He paused for a moment as if to rearrange his thoughts.

"She left me at home a lot as you probably guessed… but even if it doesn't seem that big a deal, it was. See when she was rude to the maids they took it out on me. Not directly of course, but in little ways. Ignoring me, sending me to bed early, yelling at me for little things.

One of the servants in particular disliked me. A very strong Christian, catholic I think. She got it in her head that I was possessed. I guess she decided it was her "sacred duty" to destroy the evil, and she very near killed me…"

FLASHBACK-

Look at him Carrie, it's just not natural" whispered a black clad woman of little under forty. "I bet if you cut off that ungodly hair you'd see the number."

She stood in a hallway decorated with oriental art and samurai swords, dimly lit by chandeliers. The ladies name was Jane and she spoke with a fellow worker in hushed tones. As the child in question passed by she reached subconsciously for the cross around her neck.

"I can't take it anymore! I feel unclean just standing near him. I need to do something before I go crazy."

"God be with you" was all that Carrie said before she walked away.

"He is" said the brunette as she spun on her heel and sped after the boy.

She grabbed his arm the second she caught up and wasted not a moment dragging him along behind her and around the corner.

"What are you doing? Let me go right now!"

"Quiet child" she commanded, dragging him towards the largest restrooms on the floor.

"My mommy will fire you! Mommy! Mooooommmmyyyy!" he yelled at the top of his lunges.

"Your mother will thank me for freeing her you accursed little boy! No one is coming for you!" she grabbed the child's head and shoved it into the clear water below. He flailed but she wouldn't let go. He just wasn't strong enough. Time was running out but he couldn't get loose.

I don't want to die!

And then just as suddenly, the pressure was gone, and he came sputtering up to the surface.

How?

But what he saw was this: his mother, standing in the doorway, hand on the maids shoulder, eyes blazing.

Apparently, his mother had been sober enough to come at the first desperate shriek of fear. Grateful, he ran to hide behind his mother's skirt.

"Get. Out." She hissed, and Jane was amazed at how much hatred her mistress could fit into those two syllables.

The servant stood for a moment, lost for words, then her face hardened and she spat: "god will punish you" and stormed out. Never to return.

-END FLASHBACK

"Dear god" I gasped. What kind of twisted sicko would do that to a child?

Jack shuddered for a moment, but only said, "guess that explains the shadow of fear thing, eh?"

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**pretty creepy hu? yeah. this is my take on the shadow of fear thing. the story is drawing to a close. 5 more chapters at most. i love you all! please review, or the god of elevator doors shall smite thee!**


	9. evil without

**hi guys, sorry but it will take untill next tuesday to publish more. i'm with dad this weekend and he has no internet.**

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Raimundo couldn't take his eyes off the paper even though it had long gone still.

Omi broke the silence. "I do not know much about your Christians but this does not seem normal at all. In fact, it seems most twisted."

" Right about that at least" conceded the Brazilian "that June or Jane or who ever had some kind of illness. I hope they locked her up tight" he muttered and shuddered.

"Ya know, this here Jack don't seem much like the snake we know. Kinda sad, like he got kicked in the head by the family mule…" observed Clay.

"I wonder what changed?"

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Wanna find out?" Rai finally asked.

Clay and Omi looked at each other.

"Fine" they said in unison, and turned the page.

"I don't know if I ever really got over that, but it faded a bit" Jack, surrounded in near darkness, continued his story.

"I was pulled out of kindergarten 'cause of my reading ability and all those other useless things, and they stuck me in the second grade. Needless to say, I didn't get along with the others, and out of necessity I found revenge, and soon after, evil."

FLASHBACK-

A younger Jack sat in an oversized chair, in an oversized classroom.

The girls at the back giggled and pointed at the conspicuously smaller classmate. Idly, the small genius wondered if he could curl up small enough to fit inside the safety of his desk, far away from his resentful "peers".

"Mr. Spicer! Would you _please_ sit up straight and tell us what the nines times tables are?" the teacher was exasperated with his lack of participation.

He's supposed to be a prodigy!, She thought

The little red head mumbled his way through the first half, still not sitting up. finally the teacher interrupted.

"I'm sure that no one here has any idea what you're talking about. Is it even possible to do as I ask?"

One of the "funny" boys came up with a brilliant remark and sniggered. "He can't do anything on accounta he's a _retard"_

The entire class erupted into laughter with that stinging remark

"I am not a retard as you stupidly put it, and I will thank you to stop your annoying monologue and leave me be!"

that said, jack leaned back in his chair, utterly satisfied with his vocabulary.

The rest of the class however gaped as if he has sprouted a second head and tentacles to go with it.

The aforementioned jerk decided that words weren't going to cut it here, so he went back to the old classic: pulling the smart-alecky loser's chair out from under him.

As the class laughed and our antagonist basked in the glow of an invisible spotlight, jack took a moment to cry for his mommy, and then he formulated a plan.

And called his mommy.

At the end of class, lunch bell still ringing in his ears, jack walked out the door and waited in ready ambush to spring his trap the second _Anthony _walked out that door.

"Anthony" he said in his most threatening tone.

Good thing I have my cell phone

"whada ya want now stupid?" lord almighty, did that jerk ever shut up?

" It's not what _I_ want it's what my _mom_ wants. See, I told her about the mean thing you did to me and she just wouldn't stand for it. So I did a checkup. It turns out that your mom works for _my _mother's friend…."

He pulled out his phone

"So I wonder what would happen if I had mommy dearest call in the favor…?"

"You wouldn't" the taller boy growled. But under the threat was a stressed noise. His mother_ needed_ that job.

Spicer smiled evilly "you asked for it!" he said with glee. Revenge is sweet.

The cell flipped open as he pushed a button "hey mom? Do it now"

The bullie screamed and sank to his knees. Sobs could be heard throughout the hallway.

It was over, and jack stood laughing.

-ENDFLASHBACK

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**so jack used to be even eviler (not much of an accomplishment) when he was little. good for him. REVIEW OR PAY WITH YOUR IMORTAL SOUL! if you have advice for the ending or next couple chapters, by all means, tell me! i'll try to incorporate it. later!**


	10. filler episode

**caution: this is a filler! it does nothing, just reminds you i haven't given up this story. i have 3 more chapters planned, i just have no time. more may be published tomarrow or this weekend**

* * *

"Jack, don't you think that was a bit harsh?" I finally asked. It looked to me that jack was much eviler as a child. Funny, in a cosmic sort of way…

"you might think so, but I doubt it ever happened to you. Come to think of it…" he tilted his head in an odd sort of way "you strike me as the popular snobbish type yourself"

" I resent that! But no, I don't think that sort of thing happened to me. It still seems cruel. Evil…" I grimaced with the word. Where did that come from?

"Bingo! We have a winner! Tell 'er what she's won" he leaned back on the granite wall behind him "but seriously, that was the point." He let it go. "My life wasn't anythin' great, even if it _was_ privileged. I had anything I asked for, yes, in fact most of the kids called me spoiled. I didn't agree back then, who would? But now… I'm thinking they weren't far off"

The more I thought about it, the more alike we seemed. Not in obvious ways, but smaller, subtler things. Both grown up separated from our parents, though we loved them, and both with whatever we wanted, but nothing we needed.

The biggest difference, aside from the gene splicing and freakish nanny, was that I turned to my friends, and technology, and martial arts, while he turned to world domination, and evil. Plans of world conquest and robotic minions were his support.

"On a random note: how did you end up in china?" I wondered out loud.

"funny story… see it all started with my mom…"


	11. the china conection

**Wheeeee! I wannna thank blackmonday for the moral booster and fandom logic! It took a while to get my notebook back home, but it's here, along with my cold. I just visited my aunt in Tallahassee and I went to a parade! I never get to go to those! Yay me! Okay, I'm done so enjoy the story.**

* * *

"On a random note: how did you end up in china?" I wondered out loud. 

"funny story… see it all started with my mom…"

--------

"Mom cared about my heath and well being in her own drunken way, but she was pretty blind my school world. My classmates didn't end their grudge with Anthony's break down, if anything it fueled the fire. That was just the first day (now that I think about it, it was never spoken of again) and from then on I had problems galore. And ya know what? They had issues with how I looked just like my old maid, and my father, and you xiaolin losers too. Everyone seems to find fault in my physical appearance…"

FLASHBACK-

A small mob of students, no more than six, clad in uniforms, closed in on an unusually small boy with flaming red hair. He stood between the tire swing and chain link fence separating them from the road nearby.

"Hey jerk" called out the brown haired weasel up front. "get over here"

The trembling boy stepped back as he recognized all the toughest guys and snobbiest girls.

He wavered as he spoke "if you hurt me, my mommy will"-

But the ringleader cut him off "relax idiot, we ain't gonna hurt you. We just want to… Try out an experiment." He smiled wickedly.

"What do you mean by that?" asked the worried voice

"Exactly what I said" came the reply, followed quickly by the _snick_ of an opened pocketknife.

The smaller boy's eyes widened.

"See James here" he pointed to an evil looking boy "wanted to know if your insides are like your skin. Now Bart thinks it's just normal, you know, red. But me?" the speaking boy advanced "I think it's white"

"What? No! Back off, get away! Mommyyyyyyyyy!"

The shrieks echoes through the playground, and the illustration went still

-END FLASHBACK

I stared at my companion, once _again_ at a loss for words. that was happening more and more.

"Ouch" I said

" Yeah, I know. And that sort of thing happened off and on for the rest of the year. But eventually, I don't know how, she found out. And let me tell you, she was furious. She barged into my fathers study, and _demanded_ that we move.

FLASHBACK-

A man of average age, brown hair not yet even balding, sat at a rich oaken desk on a wine colored leather chair. He looked over legal papers, exporting laws and false advertising laws and drug laws among others illegible from their position on his tabletop. The room was quiet save the rustling of paper.

**BAM!**

The door flew open and an irate woman, makeup smeared from tears and hangover induced dizziness, staggered into the room. Blond and dressed solely in a blue slip, her frail appearance lent an irony to the anger she exuded.

"Adam! Do you _know_ what has happened to our son?!?"

"of course I do. He's in the first grade right?

"No he's in second! Do you hear yourself? You have no idea what's going on in this family! This school is horrible and the children are poor and filthy and cruel! It's horrible." Each word was a rapid-fire gunshot through the air.

"Well what the hell do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I want you to move us! I hate this big stupid city with its dirt and hills and tourists! And I never see you anymore. Can't we go somewhere you'll be for more than a week?" she begged, totally deflated.

"Fine, whatever, no skin off my back. I have a new long-term project over seas anyway"

"Good" she said with a sigh. She kissed him on the cheek and left him to his work. Things were looking up.

-END FLASHBACK

"So you came to china," I said with a nod.

"you got it, only things didn't change like we had hoped…"

* * *

s**o i have two more chapters waiting but i got to go now, so you'll have to wait. sorry, gomen ne, i know, i suck.**

**vale! (ja ne)**


	12. humans are still humans

**the next chapter is up! i got a new editor; my sister!!!!! mmm, yes i do rock, thank you for noticing. well, don't let me stop you, read away!**

**but first: who here's watched Jesus Christ Superstar? hu hu? i loves it (in all it's blasphemous glory) so speak up! i must know!!!!!**

* * *

"When we came to china, I – we-- thought it would be different, y'know? 'New school, new people' But humans are still humans and I'm still me…

"So the other children still hated me, and I was still a leper. But, I suppose its different too. Whereas I'd been separated, an object to be mocked back home, now I was something more sinister. The way they looked at me wasn't the disgust or revulsion I was accustomed to, it was more like…" he searched for an adequate word

"Osore, to speak in your native language. 'Horror, uneasiness, fear, and often anxiety' fits pretty well. The point is, the way they looked at me I just didn't understand. I had no power, no secret trump card, hell! I could barely speak their language (Though I learned at an amazing rate if I do say so myself) so why were they afraid of me?"

He looked me straight in the face and my heart jumped for some reason, startled by an unnamed source. _What's up with _**that?**

"I'll tell you why: once _again_ my physical appearance conspired against me. We came to a small town by eastern Chinese standards, as my mother wanted, and their were few non-natives, let alone westerners. And I bet my hair _really_ freaked the out." He said with a twisted kind of amusement.

FLASHBACK-

One child sat in a small classroom, his crimson/copper hair and scarlet eyes a violent contrast to the chocolate eyes and glossy black locks surrounding his little island of nonconformity.

They whispered things like 'demon' and 'evil' so quietly you would have to strain to hear it, not that it mattered, the vividly colored boy couldn't understand the complicated Chinese insults, he spoke a bare minimum.

A braver student actually faced him and spoke "Chao," he started, obviously referring to the red head "you may sit among us, but one of us you are not"

The boy looked at his dark counterpart with horror, frozen still.

"I will be though" he said finally "and you will see that I am great" he whispered.

"I am better than you already" though he said it in English, so no child other than himself could understand.

-END FLASHBACK

"So they named me Tomi Chao, the rich surpassing, and hated me no less. But I was going to prove my worth if it killed me. Dad too, he was another reason I had to be better, greater than all of them."

"I needed him to see me, for real as a person, his son, not just as the old rusted porch swing, or the painting his wife talked him into buying."

His face crumbled. "Can you give me a moment?" he asked.

I nodded, and he pulled his knees to his chest and put his face down.

A soft noise seemed to echo in the cave. He could have been crying…

Or maybe it was _me_ who was crying. For him. For the boy who never had anything but a need to prove himself, and a dream.

_Some dream_ I thought sadly, and crawled closer to him, just near enough to wrap an arm around his unhealthily thin shoulders.

_My poor henjin-kun._

* * *

**short chapter i know, more like half a chapter. but it was too important to put in separately. i hope i got the japanese/chinese translations right... i just can't resist languages, they're so fun! **

**and yes you do have to look up henjin, unless you want to ask in a review which would be easier i guess. actually, yes, do that insted, i'll be pleased as punch to explain! (provided i remembered the right word)**

and remember: who's seen JCS???? you must tell me, the power of heavy metal comands it!

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Return to Top 


	13. build a goal

**Hey guys. I know it took me an ungodly amount of time, but **_**someone**_** must have noticed how the system wouldn't let you upload all last week. **

**I've got 3 more chapters ready to be typed up, just no time to do it.**

Jack eventually calmed down and sat up, determined to finish his story. I relit the fire and removed my arm before he could say anything

_That was dumb. Kimiko you baka, keep your head in the game!_

"Where was I? Oh yeah. My dad and the Chinese kids…"

FLASHBACK-

The sun was partially set as the few trees in the schoolyard swayed wearily.

"A school like any other…" whispered a boy. He was small, maybe seven or eight. His vivid red hair framed an ink-smudged face, a face that looked unaccustomed to its sad expression. Was it? Who knows?

He looked up at the tree he sat under "at least the curriculum is more challenging"

The sighing wind seemed to agree.

"And dad's home more often" he brightened.

He looked back at the graceful oak-like tree that bent over him.

"Dad says I'll be famous someday. He says I could be a scientist! I like that idea, if it's anything like fixing my broken toys. He says that makes him happy. I'd like to make him happy…

He doesn't smile too much, y'know" jack looked back at the setting sun, shaded a lurid copper by the city smog.

"Okay, then it's settled, I'll study real hard- and one day I'll win a big prize, the biggest there is!" the excited boy glanced back at the tree once more.

"Thanks for the help. It's good to talk to someone" he grinned and headed for the payphone to call his chauffer.

"Even if it _is_ only a tree"

-END FLASH BACK

"Eventually, I settled on the Nobel prize, the greatest achievement I could think of"

**so there, I finally explained the problem you were bugging me about. Yay! Next time: how his father responds!**


	14. tests

**Here's an update incase you forgot:**

We've covered the fact that his dad had him genetically mutated, and it turned out wrong.

We've covered how he was nearly killed by his psycho maid, Jane.

We've covered how he fired his classmate's mom as revenge (his first taste of evil).

We've covered how his peers abused him,

We've covered how he and Kimiko are a lot a like,

We've covered how he moved to china,

We've covered how he was determined to be better than the Chinese kids, who hated him

We've covered how he was going to make his dad proud by being a scientist.

And now we're going to cover how his father responded. 

**Don't let me stop you! Enjoy, and don't eat me alive for being ungodly late in my publishing, I had 3 **_**major**_** project due on Friday Monday **_**and**_** Tuesday. Start the story in Jack's POV.**

* * *

"I was going to win the greatest award possible. I worked hard for the rest of the year, y purpose always first. I learned to speak fluent Chinese, Japanese, and Latin (even a bit of French). 

I kept working no matter what, and when I got my test grades back, I'd show them to my father first. He'd look at my A+ (mind you, they don't use the same grading system so it's not exact) and nod, or if I did VERY well, he'd even smile, and I'd be inspired… I didn't understand what was going on though."

FLASH BACK-

"Look daddy, look!" yelled a little and unbelievably hyper redhead. "see what I got on my test? And it's the biggest one this year! I beat every single kid in my class"

And with a smug grin he added: "even Cong and Yi Min"

He sat down on the floor next to his father's desk. "Did I mention that they gave me a Chinese name? It's Chao"

"Well I'm very impressed with your test scores. In fact, I have a contest you might want to enter. You can prove yourself to the _world_ if you win" the rich man smiled at his son "and to me".

"That sounds great! When can I enter?"

"I'll call my associate in Hong Kong" he replied, slipping the roster into his desk, obscuring the line listing prize money.

-END FLASHBACK

"Jack…" I didn't get it.

"…I don't get it"

* * *

**so this is, once again, just a chapter to prove that i haven't given up on this story- i was just to busy with all these damn projects to post. **

**SORRRYYYYY!**


	15. revelation

**yeah, this is short chapter but honestly, what did you expect? and i'm listening to shikira's "hips don't lie" so i'm a bit out of it. lalalalalalalah, I FRIKING LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! you're faulous and you read even though i can't spell for crap.**

REFUGEEEEES RULE THE WATER 'CAUSE WE OWN!

* * *

"I don't get it," I said finally

"My father only cared about the prize money, he didn't give a damn about me." He gave an ironic smile.

" I went into countless contests, learned all there was to know about robotics, built the Jackbot prototype, and was given every award available, but it was never good enough.

"For every trophy with "Tomi Chao: second place" on it, there needed to be a "Tomi Chao: first place" instead. More reward money, see?

"But I didn't get it till the day I finally got the grand prize. It was right afterward, y'know? I went down stairs to find dad…"

FLASHBACK-

A dark hallway, lit only by small wall lamps. Burgundy carpeting covered the floors where footsteps echoed. A boy wearing yellow protective goggles trotted past door after door, carrying a small dime store statuette in his lab-coat pocket.

"Dad!" he called "dad I won! Did you see? Where are you?"

he raced down the hall checking each doorway, and as he approached one at the end a voice became distinct- though muffled by the thick wooden framed access.

The little red head slowed his pace as he drew nearer, wary of interrupting a conversation. But with each step, more and more could be heard.

"A lousy one grand? After all the crap I've put up with? They're only giving me _one_?!? I knew that man had a grudge against me. I lugged that kid around for weeks to get _this_? You are going up there and getting me my deserved full or-----"

Jack heard no more; he was to busy turning and running away from that accursed room as fast as possible, trying to out run the truth: his father didn't care

-END FLASHBACK

"It was… not a pleasant experience. And when I got back to the house, I threw a fit" he said hesitantly.

Even through my minor shock, I managed to rolled my eyes "that is just like you"

"Yeah, well… yur mom!"

_Oh Jack, that's a brilliant comeback. Not._

"Just get on with it!"

* * *

**and now i'm listening to "i hate everything about you" by three days grace. it's like contrasting right? now i'm off to look at por-**

**i'm kidding! jesus, i'm kidding, don't eat me! i swear it was a joke!**


	16. smashing theripy

**Oh, yeah, I know it's been weeks- and I'm sorry, I was at my dad's house, which has no computer, and I had to finish my ZADR oneshots.**

* * *

"It was… not a pleasant experience. And when I got back to the house, I threw a fit" he said hesitantly.

Even through my minor shock, I managed to rolled my eyes "that is just like you"

"Yeah, well… yur mom!"

_Oh Jack, that's a brilliant comeback. Not._

"Just get on with it!"

"Okay, okay, I have plenty of time for a story this awesome, check it baby. So keep your shirt on"

"Care to repeat that?"

He deadpanned "…no"

FLASHBACK-

"how could you?!?" screamed the little boy. He whirled around to face the man who was almost certainly his father.

"I did this for you! I wanted to make you happy, proud! How could that not mean anything? You were only doing this for the stupid _money_" he turned to the shelf behind him and began to smash every trophy within reach.

I hate you!" SMASH "I hate you" SMASH "do you hear me? I hate you!" one final SMASH and the boy sat down panting on the floor, drained of all but bitterness.

The man looked on emotionlessly. His mouth was a mere slash, his darkened eyes flat and cold. A foreboding air infused the room.

"did you think this was for you? That somehow, magically, being _good_ at something would make you loved? You can't _earn_ love, no matter what the damn television says."

"You have to be born into it, or **take** it!" his fit shot out and connected with the wall, punctuating the statement.

"And allow me to let you in on a little secret: you may be my son, but you are first, and always foremost, a freak. Nothing you do will ever matter, you'll never be anything but a freak, regardless of how many awards you win!"

He let his hand fall back down and turned to leave as he said "go away jack, I have business to attend to"

-ENDFLASHBACK

I was of course stunned by his father's… inhumanity… but one thing was bothering me.

"You smashed ALL of your trophies?" I asked incredulously, I mean, like, come on!

"um… pretty much. I was seriously mad" he said guiltily, scratching the side of his head like people do when they aren't sure what you think "I might still have a few that were in a different room"

"okay then…"

Oh boy, the silence gave me a moment to remember our predicament. Before I'd been distracted by his story, and his voice. It's so hypnotic, the odd pitch and inflections that no one else seems to have.

But now that he was quiet, I had a minute to think about our impending doom-by-suffocation issue. How long had we been there?

"How long have we been here?" I mused, not really expecting an answer.

"About three hours I assume your friends sent for help?"

"Yeah, I bet Dojo" then I added "why?"

"Well, if they sent dojo, then he should reach master Fung (us)" I hit him "in less than four hours, and bring him back in five or so" (**a/n:** **it's 'than' not 'then' people, get it through your skulls!**)

"So" I finished for him" we have less than (**a/n: see**?) six hours left in here, provided we don't suffocate"

"Well, don't worry about **that** at least, there's plenty of air in here. Just look up" he pointed a finger.

I looked up and my jaw dropped in sheer awe. The natural roof above our heads was so high that in the dim firelight, it was barely visible. And the very top was truly impossible to see.

"wow" I breathed. It made me think of the Sistine chapel for some reason. How did I miss that?

"Yeah. Looks like at least twelve hours worth… but I'm just guessing" jack agreed.

"so we're good, but what about the boys?"

8:) 8:) 8:) 8:) 8:) 8:) (look at my little Jackys)

Outside of the tunnel, way back at the entrance, the boys were just finishing the illustration of jacks fit.

"I do feel bad for the poor fella, but boy! Don't he know how to throw a hissy fit!"

"Yeah, I bet he could beat Kimi no probleh-mo"

"why would he want to BEAT her?"

**

* * *

**

**p.s. try my invader Zim fics if you are so inclined.**


	17. I've always fancied

**Like I said, about four more chapters. Counting this one. Not much more to say.**

* * *

_Last time on ABIH, _

_"You smashed ALL of your trophies?"_

_"How long have we been here?" "About three hours… I assume your friends sent for help?"_

_"We have less than six hours left in here, provided we don't suffocate"_

* * *

"So…?" I asked 

"What?" he asked back. Infuriating, why can I never get a strait answer?

"The story jack, the story! What did you do after your dad did what he did?"

"Is that a tongue twister?"

"NO! Focus jack, FOCUS"

"okay, okay. So after that, dad didn't see me much. He stuck to his side of the house, and I stuck to mine. Mother wasn't happy about it, but she knew better than to force us together."

FLASHBACK-

A woman with a blue dress stood in the shadowed doorway of her son's room. There were shards of plastic and oddly shaped bits of who-knows-what in the corners.

"Jack, please come out and eat dinner with your father and me. You've been home three days and you haven't spoken more than five words at a time to anyone. I'm worried"

A light switched on beside a table, where a redheaded boy with pale white skin sat. Jack, obviously.

"If I have dinner with you, will you let me have some space?" he looked tired, and exasperated.

"Of course honey. Just please come down, your father is leaving tomorrow and he won't be back for… I can't remember, but it's a long time."

"alright, fine" Jack stood up and put on a black coat. "let's go"

Down the stairs, through the twisting turning looping maze of a mansion and on to the lower dinning room.

The table was long, absurd for a three-person dinner, or even a five-person when his cousin and her mother came over.

Jack took a seat opposite his father, his mother moving to the middle. A bell rang from somewhere in the kitchen, and servants carrying silver platters materialized at the doorway.

Jack and his father shot looks of pure venom across the table, causing the servants to back away slowly and the woman between them to scoot her chair out a bit.

"So, _Jack,_ how has your day been?"

"Just fine, you?"

"**Fine** as well, _thank you"_

At this point, the tangible and thinly veiled anger in the room was enough to make a small animal cry, and it was starting to worry the mother.

"So… um… Adam, darling, why don't you tell us where you're going" she said nervously.

"It's somewhere far away I hope?" asked the boy with a nasty bite in his voice.

The woman tittered "now really Jack I don't-

"oh yes" cut in the man "in fact it's around the world. I'm going back to America to finish up a business deal"

"Well how promising" noted the blond woman "it's so n-

"I take it you'll be staying there for a _long_ time?" the redhead inquired

"Jack! That's-

"Absolutely, in fact you may not see me again for another six months"

The boy jumped up knocking over his chair "Fine!"

"FINE!" The man yelled back, also knocking over his chair.

A moment of silence followed, while the two males continued to glare daggers at each other. If looks could kill….

"oooookay, Jack, I think that's enough, you should go to bed" she looked at the unmoving boy "now!"

"yes ma'am…" he said grudgingly, and turned for the door.

"Oh, but before you leave" added his father "remember this: even if you don't like it, what I said is true"

"Then you'll regret telling me by the time I'm done" he whispered.

-END FLASHBACK

"And I went back upstairs to think about it. It made me wonder: what if it really _was_ the truth, what if I had been missing the point all these years?" he turned to me and sighed, "I just couldn't figure it out!"

"So later that night, I was up in my room, all mad and stuff, when something just hit me"

FLASHBACK-

The room is dark, and a shadow is spread out on the bed. It's too dark to see the colors but we know what they are regardless.

"I don't know what's going on!" said the shadow "maybe he's right, maybe that's why I amn't getting anywhere… maybe people just don't respond to kindness."

It moved to a sitting position where you could now easily tell it was a boy.

"If that's true, then I'm gonna have to take what I want by force! I want the whole world to see me. I want everyone to know me! no, better yet, I want everyone who knows me to respect me." he jumped off the bed.

"But if he's right, then you- _I_ – can't get respect without doing something that mom wouldn't like… I'd have to take it by force"

He thought for a moment "which basically means I'll have to steal it"

"If people need my consent, _approval,_ to do anything, then they'll have to respect me! Ha! That's better than being equal, I'll be superior!" he jabbed a fist in the air.

"I always sort of fancied the idea of being supreme overlord…."

-END FLASHBACK

"And that's how I got into the whole world domination thing." He finished

"Was there anything else?" I asked curiously

"Well yeah, between then and finding Wuya I guess some stuff happened" he yawned.

I yawned. Yawns are contagious. (some of you who're reading this may yawn too)

"Let's see" he mused "I think that there were only a couple things of interest"

* * *

**phew! That took two hours. Off and on. So, next chapter is the final set of flashbacks, and then I'll conclude. Hopefully.**

**Oh, and here's a bit of recognition for last chapter's reviewers. Why? 'cause I feel like it.**

Tseu Tsumi, (did you ever check my Zim stuff?) Elena, Sakura-and-anyone-but-Sasuke (what a name!), and… There were no more. Shame on you who didn't review! … that rhymes


	18. wrap up

**Having trouble thinking of something…. The middle two are mostly planned out. But the first is killing me… so I'll just skip some of it.**

**Note: he's about fourteen in the present/narration so if the first flashback was a bit over two years before then…. He's about twelve when Wuya finds him.**

**Muahahhaha! (The amazing magical marble eater!) **

* * *

"Let's see," mused Jack, "nothing big actually happened between third grade and meeting Wuya." He flopped out on the floor- cave- _thing_. 

"But you might be interested to know that even before I crossed over to the dark side, I liked the idea of world conquest- just, y'know, not with evil. With science or something."

"That makes no sense," I said.

"Well…. I don't really remember the plan either, but I think it involved getting rich then buying the Vatican or whatever" he knocked his head a couple times in hopes of starting up a flow of memories, in vain.

"So, anyways, I spent five years perfecting my Jackbots, planning world conquest and avoiding my dad" he sat up.

"But all my plans were theoretical, I needed to wait till I was an adult, or at least until I could drive. So what did I do to fill the time? I tried to find the very opposite of who I was before, throw it in my father's face."

"So I threw out my old cloths, the sweater vests my mom bought and my white lab coats, because they made me sick, moved into the basement away from my father, and assembled a semi-gothic wardrobe "

"Plus" he added, "I did a little searching later on, just to see what I was up against"

FLASHBACK-

"Load, load, load, LOAD!" Muttered a redheaded boy. The computer at his desk was in the process of loading a google search, and the boy at the desk was fidgeting. Jack.

"Oh!" he said, as the page filled in. "that's a lot of Evil"

In fact, at the result section's very top, the words "Evil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia" could be read. He clicked the website. Skimming the articles, one sentence stood out "In the philosophical concept of evil, the intent to cause harm is crucial, so that acts that would otherwise be considered evil are not called evil when performed by very young children, by animals, or by the insane"

When he finnished this sentence he sat back and mused "if I've decided to become evil, then that in itself makes me evil…?"

Sitting up, Jack finished skimming and took an alternate link to _villains_ under the word _Yfel ( a/n:old english for evil)_.

Another link to cultural separations, and on into Chinese where one name in particular stood out.

"Chase Young?" he tilted his head "He doesn't sound very Chinese…" The aspiring Villain followed the link into a short article.

"so Chase young isn't his real name?"

He scrolled down "blahblahblah, original name not recorded, blahblahblah, something about french for 'hunter', blahblahblah, therorised to be something Long, blablahblah, Master monk Guan- I GOT IT!"

He jumped up. "this is who I want to be!"

Pacing the room, he continued "ruthless, a trator, minions, heck! He's even got cool armor! He's exactly what I need to be…."

Jack's eye's welled up and he looked positivly estatic "he's my _hero_!"

-END FLASHBACK

"so I found out about chase, and some other people, namely Hannible R. Bean and even a bit of Wuya- that's where some of my symbols came from you know."

"I always did wonder why you're helibot looked so much like her ghost form" I said.

"well, that's why. There was almost NO story on her, nothing but a vauge citation and those symbols, not surprising since it was 15,000 years ago. Everything I did find was warped by time and retelling and… _stuff_." Jack shrugged

"so" he added "when I first met her I had no _clue_ who she was."

FLASHBACK-

"This is _stupid_!" shouted a boy who was _clearly_, undeniably, without a doubt, Jack L. spicer.

"there's no weapon I can use that would get me the whole world! Either I have to get a _piece_ of it or wait another six years. NO!!! I want the world NOW! Not tomarrow or in a year, I want it now!"

He spun around to face the table behind him, covered with a map of the world.

"and I don't just want some of it! Not Austrailia, or_ Fiji_! I want to rule it ALL!"

"sir" said one of the jackbots, zooming up to the 'evil genius'

"what!?! Can't you see I'm in the middle of an evil rant here?"

"but sir, you're father sent you a package from Hong-kong" it monotoned

"oh… what did he send?" Jack grabbed the box and unwrapped it frantically.

"a puzzle box?" he held it up "these are okay…"

he leaned over and started to solve it, remarkably fast.

"ugg! Lame!" he threw the finnished puzzle away and went back to his project.

As the redhead muttered something else, from behind him rose the Ghostly face of Wuya, 'changer of destinies' , and in that second, the course of the future was altered, and his life would never be the same again.

-END FLASHBACK

"so that's how you met wuya?" I asked

"that's how I met wuya" he agreed

"just think" I said "if your father had never fought with you, then he'd never have felt guilty enough to send you the puzzle box, and you'd never have reliesed wuya, and we'd never have met…" the reality of what I'd just said dawned on me.

"yeah… I suppose you're right… although I'm _still_ not entirely sure why he sent it to me…" Jack stood up and walked across to where I was sitting.

"I can really only think" he added as he dropped down beside me "of one particularly interesting thing that's happened to me since."

I gave him a 'were-you-recently-hit-on-the-head-with-a-piano?' Kind of look, and he amended.

"that you guys weren't there for! Jese, do I have to spell everything out?"

to which I replied, "oh, you can spell?"

* * *

**please notice, I changed the dialogue a little from the original first episode. Just assume that Christi changed it a bit when she put it into the script. **

**And I actually looked up what was mentioned here, and that quote is entirely real, a fastinating article realy. You should definatly read it. Google 'evil' and pick the first link. **

On a random note, Exodus 20:5 says, "I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." what's up with that?


	19. let's see how you tick

So close to the end!** Hurray!**

But i have to leave for Savannah tonight. **Booo**

**in anycase, I don't own XS and I don't own the flashback (but I did tweek it a bit). See you in a week!**

* * *

"Well, all jokes aside, it was a relatively unimportant thing, but I just thought…" Jack trailed off. 

"You thought…?" I nudged him.

"I thought you would find it interesting. Plus, something else happened to me back when I lived in America, something I forgot to mention before" He shrugged at me.

"See, it all started when mom sent me to see this super psychologist for weird children or something"

(IMPORTANT! This flashback is told by Jack but written in third person for the writer's convenience, so if it has more detail than it normally should, that's why)

FLASHBACK-

"So... Jack? You LIKE being called Jack? Not by your real name?"

"Nuh-uh. Just... Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius. Or even... Jack Spicer, Prince of Darkness. Oh, or how about... Jack Spicer, Evil Emperor of Darkness. Yeah. The last one is really cool."

"Uh...huh. So. Jack. What do you do for fun?" This doctor asked WAY too many questions. Wasn't he supposed to be really smart or something, and have a PhD. That's what it said on the paper.

'Dr. Roy Newman, PhD.'

"I like to work on my robots." Jack answered, sitting down, or rather, flumping down on the squishy lounge chair. The doctor scribbled something down, but Jack could care less, as the doctor wanted to ask more questions. "I see. And how often do you work on these robots?"

"Every day. Hey, did you REALLY get all those certificates from THAT many schools?" Jack asked, curiously scanning the wall.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. Each one from a different school. All Ivy League too. Like you." Jack shrugged. "I guess. But I only went to one REAL school. The rest were, I dunno, Tech schools or some kind of specialty schools or whatever."

"I'll bet. But they were the best that money could buy, right?" Jack turned back to him, a sharp, foreign look spanning his face. The doctor had never seen this side of him, and would be hard pressed to see him like this again.

Unless he found the right button again. "Yeah. Like you." Dr. Roy blinked, and rubbed his balding head, before looking back up at Jack, who had gone back to looking around the room at the many certificates that hung on the wall.

"So, Jack, what about your friends?" Jack didn't look at him, but seemed to stop looking around. "Friends?"

"Yes. The people you... HANG with?" Jack rolled his eyes and sighed shortly. He hated it when old people tried to talk cool. Next thing, he would be asking Jack which boy bands rocked out loud.

Or saying 'Fo' Shizzle? Word.' Jack grimaced at the thought, and looked at his wrist. Two bands glittered up at him from it. One was his watch, which read "1335". Great. A whole... fifty-five more minutes of this nonsense.

The other band held his detecto-bot. It lay on his wrist, waiting, just waiting for something more exciting to happen, and carry them away to some faraway land that Jack had probably been to as a tourist, but never a treasure hunter. But, he was thinking too much, and the doc was still asking his never ceasing, annoying questions.

"Jack? What about your friends?"

Jack scoffed. "I don't need any." He replied shortly.

Dr. Newman stopped scribbling to look back at Jack. "So... you don't have ANY friends... do you, Jack?"

Jack swallowed a tough lump in his throat. _That's not supposed to be there..._ And he realized that it was getting harder to see, as well. He wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve, and turned back to the doc.

"Well, no, I don't. But if I did need one, it'd be a slim chance, by the way, if I'd need a friend, then I'm SURE you'll provide one for me. Or my mother will. Or my father- never mind. Either way, I don't need one. My parents will get it for me when I see fit." His voice had become host to an unmistakable air of Know-it-all-itism.

"Jack... tell me more about these... robots. Does it come easy to you to build your robots?"

Jack nodded. "Sure. Whenever they're de-- I mean. Yeah."

He almost let slip what was really going on. Between him and the Xiaolin losers. But not for real.

"Look, building my robots, any kind of robot, it's pretty simple. Not to mention the repetitive ative BORING tasks that I have to do with it."The doctor looked intrigued, so Jack pressed on.

"Piano, geography, government and politics. Then I've got speech, robotics, engineering, chemistry. They said, my parents said, that if I wanted to build the robots, I had to keep up with my other... talents... as well. I've got an enigmatic mind, doc. And you haven't even scratched the surface. That's what you're doing, isn't it?"

The doctor stared into his dark, crimson eyes, but didn't recoil. "You're trying to... what is it... divulge into my innermost thoughts? Find my childhood demons? Get me to open up?" Jack scoffed and opened a bag of Skittles.

"Forget it, doc. No one's going in there." He said, tapping his head, and popping a few of the chewy candies into his mouth.

They were his... dare he say it?... addiction. Some people smoked, some were alcoholics, some were chocoholics. He was a Skittleholic. If that even was a word. Still, he always carried around a bag, just in case he needed something sweet to chew.

The doctor, noticing his need for sugar at a high tension time made a note, and continued on. "Jack... do you have... have you ever..." Jack looked up at him, as the doctor searched for the right words to ask him this question.

It could be evident, by his choice of candy. (Taste the _Rainbow_...) But decided now would probably NOT be the best time to ask such a thing, and pressed on with a different question.

"So... you find building robots and all these other things you do easy. What about... other things. Physically demanding things, for instance."

Jack looked back down at his bag of candy and shrugged. "I'm pretty good at basketball." He mumbled.

It was true, as it was his favorite sport, and he was pretty good at it. But no one ever played with him. No one wanted to. Not his parents, and his Jackbots weren't any good. It was always just him, by himself.

"Is that all? You don't do anything else?" Jack glared at him. "What, do expect me to do some other tricks like some common place show dog? No, doc. that's all." The doctor was beginning to understand, and was closer to scratching the surface than Jack thought.

All these things Jack is good at, it's all _predictable_.

Chemistry always dealt with the same numbers, when you got down to it. Government, politics, history repeats itself, so it was easy to figure what would happen next. That was Jack's talent. Prediction, reading into things.

If nothing else, Jack could find the rhythm to just about anything and jump right in, if you get that sort of metaphor. And I hope you do. The doctor just had to ask a few more questions--He looked back at the clock--and he was running out of time.

"Jack, it is to my understanding that you set your old house on fire. Can you tell me about that incident?" Jack grinned.

"Classic. Yeah, I did. I was playing with a box of matches around my parents curtains. Now that I think about it, I don't remember why. Just the sheer fun of having fire in my hands... Sorry. Anyway, next thing I know, the curtains are on fire, and the smoke alarm is going off."

The doctor nodded, and took some hurried notes. 'Just a little more...' He thought. He was close. Deliciously close.

"So, it didn't occur to you that you should call for help?" The psyc. asked. Jack thought back, popping more Skittles into his mouth.

"I dunno. I guess not, 'cuz I kept right on playing with the matches until I ran out, and then... I dunno, I went outside to play. The babysitter chick that was supposed to be watching me..." His voice trailed off.

"Jack, did something happen to the babysitter?"

Jack blinked, his mind snapping back to reality. "What?"

"Did something happen to the babysitter that day? Maybe she got burnt?"

Jack gave him a weird look. "No, she got out okay. I was just thinking how hot she was." Jack said plainly.

The doctor chuckled, and to his surprise, Jack did too. "Oh, man, I remember this one time," The doctor looked back up at the clock. "2:20". Time was running out. He didn't have time for this...

"...And then she told me that I was too young to understand such intricate relationships." Jack finished.

He looked to the doctor, who, it seemed, was staring at the window, but was actually staring at the clock.

"Yo, doc, if I'm not interesting anymore that's fine, but at least let me know so I can go home."

The doctor looked back to him. "Oh, no, it's not that, I was listening, I was... uh..." Sweat began to form on his forehead, but he quickly wiped it off.

"Jack, don't you think it was common sense to just have... let someone know about the fire?" He asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. "I don't know. I guess. Maybe. What does that have to do with anything?" Dr. Newman took a shaky breath. "Jack, if you could, please untie and then retie your left boot?"

Jack raised an eyebrow, Dr. Newman gave him a simpering look that could only be a plead for cooperation, and then looked down at his boots.

At first, it was hard to tell if Jack was really thinking, or just stalling. Roy Newman wished he wouldn't.

But, after ten seconds, Jack did the thing he had been hoping for him to do. He held up his two hands to his face, and began to mumble. The doctor couldn't hear what he was saying, but he had an idea, as Jack began to form the letter L with his left hand, and put his left hand right above that boot. He quickly untied his boot, before stopping and slowing down to retie it.

It took him a little more than a minute, but sure enough, not the first time, nor the second time, nor the third time, he got his shoe tied.

"There. I don't get what that was all about." Jack said, as if the time he took to tie his shoe was the normal time EVERYONE took to tie their own shoes.

Roy Newman smiled. "No. No big deal."

Beepbeep. Beepbeep. Beepbeep. Beepbeep.

"FINALLY! It's over. I'll have you know that THAT was worse than school. Torture, doc. Oh, and one more thing. You haven't gotten into my head. Not even barely." He said, walking up to the door. He tugged at it, and, leering braggingly at him, turned to walk out the door, slamming it behind him. (What, you think he would have walked right into the door? I don't think so.)

Dr. Roy Newman, PhD, smiled. "Oh, Jack. I've scratched more than you think." He said, taking off his glasses and setting them down next to his notes.

The last line of which read: Jack Spicer hypothosis: Albert Einstein-like genius. Blessed with intelligence of the Rhythmic sort, he can only figure problems that have a set rhythm, if you may. Probably one to listen to music as he works, or make up a theme song for himself.

However, this intelligence comes at a price, as said boy genius lacks what most of the society today takes for granted--common sense. As with most geniuses, such as Albert Einstein, Jack lacks the area that allows him to understand common, everyday tasks, such as tying his shoes or alerting someone of a fire.

Doctor Newman stood up and looked out his window, down far below to the boy that not minutes ago sat in his office.

The boy looked up at him, with a strange gloating look on his face, as his driver opened his door for him. Jack climbed into the limo's back seat, and drove off, the doctor smiling, beaming in his wake.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have found this generations new Albert Einstein. And his name is...

Jack Spicer, Boy Genius, Lacking of Common Sense.

-ENDFLASHBACK

"Well, I got a hold of the report about… a week later, and I was impressed. I think that guy figured out more than I gave him credit for. But I don't entirely buy it either" he said thoughtfully.

"uh… why not?" I asked, a bit confused "made perfect sense to me"

"Any argument will sound convincing if you reason with it for long enough. I just wonder if he really understood what I was talking about…."

"well, for what it's worth, I don't… what I mean is…" I was having trouble dredging up the words to explain what I meant. "You don't have to be a genius"

"umm… thanks" he said, and gave me a 'look'.

_I should learn to keep my mouth shut,_ I thought, _that's going to comeback and haunt me… But at least I meant it… actually that's pretty weird in itself. wait... oh no. I think I get it now. Darn it, if only he didn't seem so human._

* * *

**please note that this was not made entirely-even mostly by me. The creator of the flashback is none other than the generous **_Halfhuman123_

psssst feel free to still review, i will love you forever


	20. The solution

**"Skin on skin, blood and bone- you're all by yourself but you're not alone..."**

**Wow, We are so close to the end I can smell it. And it stinks. I know this one does. I really don't like the way it turned out... I just couldn't see Kimi as one of those secretive shojo girls who denies it and secretly moons over the guy. **

**I want this to be realistic, but sometimes it doesn't turn out very elegant. Not my best chapter.**

* * *

"_I should learn to keep my mouth shut,_ I thought, _that's going to comeback and haunt me… But at least I meant it… actually that's pretty weird in itself. wait... oh no. I think I get it now. This wouldn't be a problem if only he didn't seem so human."_

"So that's where my story ends, I guess" said Jack.

We were sitting side by side, our legs pulled up to our chests to keep some of the heat in. It wasn't so much _cold;_ we had my fire after all, but a bit uncomfortable temperature-wise.

"Y'know," I said after a moment "I never really understood you. It was like you weren't really a person; you were so two-dimensional. I never considered that you had so much crap in your life… You seemed so content"

He shrugged "I don't let it get to me. I just block out my problems and focus on the moment. That probably why I have trouble making plans."

"Plus" He added "I do enjoy Evil, so it's not like I have any immediate issues"

We sat in silence for a moment, a bit awkward actually but not unduly so. I was working on a theory.

"Hey, Jack" I said finally "Have you ever considered that maybe you aren't really evil?"

He jerked like I had slapped him "Not Evil? ME?"

"Think about it" I sighed "You've had hundreds of Chances to kill us over the years, but you _haven't_. All you ever do is steal from us, and plot world domination. Which, by the way, is not necessarily evil, depending on what you plan to do when you rule it."

"But… I … I didn't …" He stuttered, thoroughly confused. Obviously, I was making some sense.

"No Jack, Hear me out," I said. I stood up and before I knew it, I was pacing. It's a stress thing.

"You say that originally, you didn't really want to be a monster, that was your dad. And may I add, it sounds suspiciously like brainwashing to me. So, like any child, you followed the example of your parent, namely being a jerk."

Those psychology classes were paying off. I suppose there is more to life than computers…

"It's really not evil you're after." The poor boy made a noise "don't deny it, we need to move on. What you seem to be aiming at is recognition, and most likely power to go with it." Okay, that was working, time to sum it up.

"Also, it seems you have a case of acquired kleptomania and _possibly_, just as a guess 'cause it's hard to tell, mild megalomania" I looked at him, and noticed he had his jaw about to the floor at this point.

"In any case, all I can tell you is that nothing you do is really evil by conventional standards." His jaw pulled back up but he was still staring

"You can undergo therapy for the kleptomania or just work on it personally, and I'm not even sure if the megalomania exists. As for the world conquest thing, it might help to become a writer and put your plans to use where they can't hurt people, or maybe doing the opposite would help you feel like you're making a difference anyway."

While I was catching my breath, Jack seemed to be absorbing the information.

Eventually, he said "Alright, you do seem to know what you're talking about… but why are you telling me all this?"

"It's simple really," I said as I walked back to him and sat down "I want you to come back with me. What can it hurt?"

"That makes no sense," he said in an odd voice. "How would it possibly work?"

"Let me be honest, because I don't like to lie unless I have to. I like you Jack, I would like to have you around, even though you're obnoxious and kinda dorky at times. Life isn't like some movie where we moon on and on and sneak around until something blows up."

That's my philosophy on life. Dramatic moments don't work in the real world, so you have to be blunt.

"This is what I think, and you have to take it or leave it. I want you to come back with me, join our team, hold on to what you have left. You _are_ losing everything you have, piece by piece, and you're giving in to it." He gave me a look that was half skeptical, half worried.

"There's a place for you with us- you don't even have to change your life style. Continue being Jack, I don't want to change what you are, but let go of the heylin. What have they ever done for you except murder any dignity you had left? You could have friends!"

I took his hand and looked him in the eye "Doesn't that sound worth it?"

"Well yeah, but…" he looks away "But this is who I am! It's not like I can just snap my fingers and change. Besides, I _like_ my life. Sort of"

"Didn't you hear me? You don't have to change! All you need to do is keep doing what you've been doing, but _with_ us, not against us." I hoped he would get it, for my sake as much as his.

"You make it sound so easy…" he whined. "Why do you care?"

"God Damn it, Jack!" I grabbed his shoulders "Do I have to spell it out for you?"

His eyes went wide and he nodded slightly, although he really didn't need to answer.

"I love you, baka!" Well, I really shouldn't have called him an idiot, but at least it wasn't in English.

And you know what? I kissed him, idiot or not. And he had this look on his face, like he'd never been kissed before.

"So" I said when I pulled back "What do you say?"

"I… think" he valiantly tried to shake off the daze "We should talk to the others before… y'know… right?"

"hmmm. Okay, tell you what, I'll stand watch while you sleep so that if Dojo gets back I can help him dig us out"

He just nodded and flopped over backwards. I shook my head. I'd had my share of boyfriends back in Japan, so I sort of forgot what it's like the first time.

"Baka," I said again, and let the fire go out.

_Raimundo is going to _kill _me for this. _

* * *

**Yes, Kimiko was a popular girl even at thirteen. My Japanese is flawed, so if I was using the wrong word or spelling it incorectly please let me know. **

**Does it suck? I can't tell...**

"_ever feel like you're standing still? trapped beneath the mundain... Ever want to change your world? To leave regrets and pain... For a while?"_


	21. I don't know how to tell you this

"No one bites back as hard on their anger, all my pain and woe can't show through" -The Who, Behind Blue Eyes

**This thing is stretching out WAY longer than I intended. Sorry for the late updates, there was school, then I was on a OrochiKabu fetish, and my account was BROKEN! not to mention I just got back into JTHM. But it isn't like you were dying to see this, right?**

* * *

_Raimundo is going to _kill _me for this. _

Sleep is a blessing and a curse. It whiles away the empty hours and gives you new strength, provides relief even. But upon awakening, all that you have experienced is left in confusion, and reality is hard to separate from dreams.

BAM!

Rocks and rubble went flying from all directions, and I was jerked out of my nap. I didn't even have enough time to feel guilty about sleeping on the job. More rocks came tumbling down, and I scooted away from the entrance so I wouldn't get crushed, it would be _way_ too ironic to die just as I was about to be saved.

"KIMI!!!" came from just behind the blockage. We were saved! I lit up a fire, because it was still rather dark.

"Raimundo!" I called back. This was great! We really were saved! A whole weight of worry I didn't even realize was there suddenly dissipated. I had to wake up Jack-

Jack

Oh. No. Now I was _really_ confused. I remembered... well, I remembered being forward, embarrassingly so, now that it was over.

But I couldn't be sure. It had been such a relief to sort everything out! What if it was only a dream? I didn't think that I could say the same things as I had then, swept away in the moment. If it _was_ only a dream and I woke him... I'd be back to square one. I didn't think I could deal with that.

"Jack... I have to know," I said softly, as rocks continued to fall from the pile behind me.

I tiptoed over to where he was sleeping, snoring a bit, but actually pretty cute, and I tapped his shoulder.

"Hey! Jack! Wake up!" I whispered urgently.

"Nooooo..." he moaned "I don't wanna wake up..." and then I shook him as hard as I could.

He sat up groggily, eyes still closed "D'ya mind? I was having the coolest dream about Kimi-" He opened his eyes and looked at me "...ko... crap."

"Hi Jack" I forced a smile "They're breaking us out"

"Um... I don't really know how to ask you this..." he said hesitantly.

A surge of hope shot through me "A dream?" I asked, silently begging for a yes.

"Yeah!" his eyes lit up. "About you! You asked me... asked me..."

"To come back with me?" I finished. Oh, thank God, or Buddha or whoever was in charge of these things.

"S... so it was real?" he asked, a bit dazed.

"Yes!" I very nearly shouted, "It was real! Everything is fixed! We have our plans figured out, The guys are currently about to rescue us and..." _Oops,_ I thought, _there's that dark cloud again. _

"What?" he asked, confused now.

"The guys... it's a good idea, and I think they'll be okay with it- Omi especially, I know he likes you- but what about... y'know... _us_?"

"Oh" he snapped out of the happy mood "I dunno _what _they'll think of that... and Rai, he sorta likes you... right?"

"Uh," was about all I could say. We'd never really confronted that issue. I know he liked me at least a little, but that didn't stop him from flirting with every pretty girl we saw, and I ... well, it's not that I _didn't_ like him, it was just that he'd never said anything. And I never led him on.

"...Um... it's not like we're going out. If he has a problem, that's not my fault" And that was about all I could say.

"So how do you want to break it to them?" He asked me.

Well, I wasn't about to let_ him_ do it, I was imagining some bragging and a couple dozen "Check it and weep baby!" 's, which were probably not the best plan.

"I'll do it," I offered hurriedly "I'll just play it by ear... plans aren't my strong point."

And then the blockage fell apart. The bits and pieces went rolling at us, and I shoved Jack out of the way. The momentum sent us rolling and I ended up under him, but out of the way at least. That's a plus.

But, of course, Raimundo just _had_ to come in at that moment, before we could disentangle. Why don't things ever work out?

"HEY!" He shouted, "You get off Kim, NOW!"

Jack jumped off like he was shot, and I sort of laughed nervously. "Um, no, that's not... It's not what you think..." I looked at him hopelessly.

"Oh yeah? How's that?" He cocked a brow at me and crossed his arms.

"Well, it's simple... I, uh, I asked him out" I smiled a little, and Rai nearly fell over- Clay had to catch him.

"Kim, you sure you know what you're sayin'?" the cowboy asked as he stood Rai back up. "I mean, he's a pretty slippery little varment, are'ya sure you aren't just suff'ren from oxygen deprivation?"

Well, at least he wasn't fainting. "Pretty sure..."

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Rai shouted, wobbling a bit, "This jerk brainwashed Kimi- or something. Sure, I'm willing to make allowances 'cause I've seen the crap he's been through, but c'mon! This is Jack! J-A-C-K! Have you lost your minds?"

I stood there while he huffed, processing the last few sentences. "Rewind," I said, "What do you mean 'I've seen'? What are you talking about?" I crossed my arms and waited.

"Eheh... um, while we were waiting for Dojo," Dojo gave a little wave "We... uh... watched Jacks life in the book of Exedon" He looked down like a preschooler caught stealing stickers.

Jack jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at my friend "You mean you losers invaded my personal history and ... **_looked_** at it?!?" He sounded pretty mad, but as expected, this was not the most eloquent accusation. I shook my head and walked over to the guys.

"Raimundo, Clay, Omi," I laid my hand on the Texan's shoulder "Seriously, guys, just listen for a minute. I have a plan and if you'd just listen for a minute..."

* * *

**Does it suck? I can't tell... Any preferences on the type of ending? One chapter ONLY. Posibly with an epilogue- but don't count on it.**

"There is a girl who walks on wires at midnight, I always ask her, but she can't see through the light... I carry, she can't see through the light" -Split The Girl, by Jupiter

**What'd you think of that quote?**


	22. Accusation and the end

"The words you just can't take, doesn't matter if they're true, Something's gotta give- and OH, it won't be you" -Nny poem, Desdemona C. (me)

**Oh God... I feel so strange... this was the first story I ever published... THE FIRST! Begun with a giant mug of coco and a radio playing 'American Pie'. And now it's at an end... How sad is that? I just can't believe it's over. I think I'm in denial. I know, I'll split the last chapter in two peices. This'll be the longer one.**

* * *

I spent twenty minutes explaining the situation to the guys, and by the end of my tale the sun was already drifting up into the mandarin sky outside our cave.

"So what do you think?" I asked, finally, holding my breath. If Omi and Clay agreed, it wouldn't matter _what_ Rai thought.

"Well," started the cowboy, "I reckon it _would_ be handy to have the robots working _for_ us, 'sted of 'gainst us." He shrugged and looked at Omi.

"Exactly!" I crowed, wrapping an arm around his middle and squeezing.

"I do like this idea…" Omi agreed hesitantly, "But how do we know he will not simply stick a knife in our shoulder as usual? He is most untrustworthy"

I rolled my eyes. _Boy, does he ever have a problem with idioms _

"Okay, okay, I see your point. But I think I really got through to him this time! I think he's really looking forward to getting back at Chase and Wuya" I added, remembering what he'd said just before I fell asleep.

_Maybe this _is_ a god idea. Chase is gonna go NUTS when he sees how _**over**_ him I am. Serves him right, calling me 'worm' all the time…He doesn't deserve a genius like me. _

Glancing back at Jack for a moment, I smiled a bit. "Plus, there's me…"

"God DAMNIT Kimiko!" Raimundo burst out. "You're being a freaking IDIOT!"

I turned at light-speed, grabbing my so-called friend by the collar "_What_ did you say?!" eyes narrowed, I shoved by face way into his personal bubble. "I'm sorry, I just _know_ I heard you wrong. You think I'm a retard? That YOU need to make the desisions for me, because I'm too dumb to do it myself? Is that what you think?!"

"N-no!" Raimundo's eyes widened and he took a step back, "No I didn't mean—"

"You think I'm not doing what I want? You think this is _his _idea?"

"No! I swear, I didn't—"

"Well let me tell you something, _buddy_, this was my idea-- this was MY choice! I _like_ him. You think you're soooo cool, and you think you should get everything you want because you're good-looking and it just **_kills_** you to see someone like Jack get me instead of you!"

"I—I….I" Stuttered the Brazilian.

"You're thinking 'she can't possibly like him' right?" I snarled, "You think I'd never go for a guy who isn't tough or super-cute, because… Why? 'Cause I'm _shallow_? Maybe if you ever took a minute to think, you muscle head, you'd understand there's more to a person than you see by insulting him twice a week!"

"…" Normally tan face draining to a sickly alabaster, my teammate looked away. He was at a loss for words now; apparently I'd hit some kind of nerve. Good.

I took a breath. "Rai, get over yourself. I made my choice, and if you can't support me, then leave me alone."

I gave him a cold, waiting look, and at that moment the blue-gray walls around me seemed to echo my disappointment in whispering sighs.

"If you really want this..." the Brazilian relented, "Then I guess I'm behind you"

"Thanks," I broke into a smile "Now where's Master Fung? I need to talk to him about our arrangements. I dread whatever proverb he pulls out of his hat—jacket, this time."

* * *

**Second portion is much shorter... I guess you can call it an epilogue. Who can tell me Kimiko's friend's name? Kikyo? Y'know, from the first episode... I think.**

"I started out with just one dollar, gambled with a man and I won me another- I'm bad, but I don't care boys, gonna be a millionair" -Said Cleaves

(that quote reminds me of Jack's dad)


	23. Epilogue Gateway

_Only an Angel born in Hell…  
Can remove a Satan-Spell  
Well, I know that you're in love with him,  
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym… _

"It's been more than a month since Jack crossed over from the dark side," I told Keiko, "And things are going so smoothly, I'm almost a little worried."

Keiko and I walked down the streets of Tokyo, gray, grainy pavement scuffing our shoes. We'd made it to Japan after our latest conquest, the Shiva Lotus, and I'd run into my friend on the way to my favorite restaurant.

"What's he like now?" she wondered, jamming her hands into her pockets.

"Mostly the same… we can't seem to cure his kleptomania and he still whines, but he's super funny in an accidental way—not to mention it turns out he's really sensitive - in a good way - too." I smiled at the memory of his surprisingly genuine empathy. He has good taste in flowers.

"I never thought you'd go for the Goth type" mused my friend, "You always seemed to pick the scene boys."

"Oh, he really isn't Goth, he just likes the way he looks in the clothes. Not to mention the way people look at him when he wears them, even now that he's on our side… Y'know, he still refuses to call himself one of the good guys." I shook my head at the stubbornness.

"Then what is he?" She frowned in puzzlement.

"He calls himself an 'opportunist'." I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, he claims that since I'm on this side, it's best for him too… Well, I can't really see him being good for no reason—no wait, I can, I have, and I never want to again," I shivered and Keiko laughed.

I must've told her about our experience with 'good Jack' during one of our many e-mail chats… Thank god we don't need secret identities like superheroes.

"Although," I added, "He says good is more rewarding in the long run…"

"What a weird guy!" My friend laughed, "Have you guys gone on a date yet?"

"Once or twice" I nodded, checking the street signs. It was good to read in Japanese again. "I was a little—no, a LOT—surprised, but he always pays. He really isn't as much of a shirker as he seems"

A boy across the street waved at me, and I waved back, though I had no idea who he was. I really had been gone a long time.

"Yeah, and I shouldn't've been surprised at all the romantic touches, what with him being so girly and all…"

"Hmmm," came the response. "Maybe I should start picking up Goth boys too…" she mused and I jammed my elbow in her side.

We broke down laughing as we pushed through the restaurant door. The smells of salted squid and fresh fish washed over me, and Keiko started giggling.

"What's so funny?" I asked, craning my neck to see the source of her amusement.

"Over there," She whispered, pointing, "Look who's at our table!"

Through the crowd of dull coats and giant knock-off bags, I caught a splotch of vermilion hair, shining like copper in a sunset.

I saw bright ruby eyes, and I started smiling like an idiot.

--

So Here I am, and my story's been told.

It's never really over, but you can guess the rest.

Oh, you wanted to know the truth. And the book of Exedon never lies, does it now?

_"And while the king was looking down,  
the Jester stole his pointed crown"  
_

--

**Much love to all who actually read. 3**

**And that crown thing at the end? That's refering to Chase Young, in a vauge way.**

**And Yeah, this whole story is in the book of Exedon... what I forgot to mention is that you can write your own history in there, if you want, which is then followed by all those pictures.**

**It's a complicated Wu... If you really want to know then ask, but I can't be arsed to explain it now.**

**(DeviantArt posted on HALLOWEEN- WOW it's been a while.) **

Undieing gratitude went to:

HalfHuman, for being awesome and generous and for donating one of her stories. (Now a good friend)

FireCrackerGirl, for seeing this through to the end and always reviewing. LOVE YA GIRL!

Elena, because she was always there, even though I couldn't always understand her. (Translation errors)

SAABS, I still love your name (Sasuke sucks) and you rock.

NigaleCross, Thanks for the thoughtful comments--I hope I'll see you around.

**As for the rest of you:**

**Tallest Red- You can just watch**

**Tallest Purple- You should've tried harder**

**Thank you, my sentaments exactly. Farewell, and may the horse be with you!**

"Hold the dark holiday in your grasp, face it and survive- journey from the dead tunnel and be glad, Oh so very glad, that you are **alive**" -C.C. Moundshroud, from _The Halloween Tree_


End file.
